Abstract:
The aim of the article is
to reflect on biblical-theological perspectives on family in order to enrich postmodern faith
communities. In the post-biblical period the biological family was central to the process of the
institutionalisation of the church and the spiritual aspect of family was underplayed. The church
father, Augustine, indowed marriage with sacramental status. This emphasised the presence
of God in the family, but ‘procreation’ dominated his theology of marriage. The sacramental
status of marriage along with the dominance of patriarchy made marriage indisputable. This
obstructed any possibility of thinking creatively about marriage in a postmodern context.
In his reformation of marriage Martin Luther succeeded in deconstructing the sacramental
status of marriage, but did not succeed in overturning patriarchal dominance. The reality of
postmodern families differs vastly from that of biblical times and the times of Augustine,
Aquinas and Luther. The challenge of the church in a postmodern world is to reflect in a
responsible biblical theological way on the relationship between adults and children from the
perspective of the kingdom of God. This article aims to contribute in this regard.
